Keeping His Words
by makuroshi
Summary: After successfully dragging a very tired, irritable and reluctant Akari into a drinking game with Tsukitachi, Hirato promised that he would leave Akari alone for a whole week given that the doctor wins. But will Hirato really keep his promise? Light Hirato/Akari fluff, with Tsukitachi as a secret shipper.


**Keeping His Words**

Pairing: Hirato/Akari

A/N: Not really my first fanfiction, but it is the first that I've published online. I've written quite a number but never had the courage to share it with others. Hope I managed to make them in-character and provided you with a laugh or two.

Disclaimer: This is a fan fiction based on Karneval by Touya Mikanagi-sensei. Had Karneval been mine, Hirato and Akari would already be going at it like rabbits in heat. Nah, just kidding. ;)

* * *

It is common knowledge that the two Ship Captains' favourite plaything is the sophisticated, stoic and workaholic pink-haired SSS-ranked personnel Akari, and that the three occasionally indulged (in Akari's case, suffered) in little drinking sessions endearingly nicknamed as 'tea parties'. The parties always end up with a very flustered and drunk Akari, a smug and satisfied Hirato and a hysterical Tsukitachi.

One particular day, after successfully dragging a very tired, irritable and reluctant Akari into a drinking game with Tsukitachi, Hirato promised that he would leave Akari alone for a whole week given that the doctor managed to emerge as the champion, but if Akari lost, then he would just have to put up with Hirato's teasing for yet another week.

"No punishment game or whatsoever. Good deal, isn't it?" Hirato winked playfully.

Tsukitachi snickered at his words; as both of the captains were fully aware that Akari's alcohol intolerance could be the same with, or even lower than that of Nai. On the other hand, Akari weighed the consequences of this interesting offer thoroughly. After all, it was a particularly hectic week at the Research Tower, and any chances of obliterating disturbances from outside sources –namely the two obnoxious captains- would prove to be of great advantage. The Second Ship's Captain was notorious for being sly, manipulative and slightly sadistic. It didn't matter whether it involved words or actions, as he was able to hide every bit of emotion or intention behind that undecipherable smile. Due to his perpetually scheming attitude, most would think that Hirato always had something up in his sleeves with each and every action he took, and that he would not fulfill his promises. Nevertheless, this was not the case, as Hirato was actually a man of pride and dignity and therefore, would not go back on his words. Akari knew this fact very well after working with the man for so long. He figured that he'd got nothing to lose, and agreed to the condition.

Under normal circumstances, Akari would have been knocked out after a maximum of 3 glasses, but thanks to his outstanding determination to get rid of Hirato, he managed to survive until his 7th glass. Gulping down his 8th, the doctor's grip on the glass began to loosen, and his eyelids drooped slightly. His face was tinted with a slight rosy hue and this was a cue to both Hirato and Tsukitachi that the man was already in his drunken state. This should have signaled his lost, and Akari's subconscious mind was already cursing at himself for falling once again into that imbecile Hirato's traps.

However, right after Hirato and Tsukitachi downed their 8th glass, a soft 'thud' was heard, and to his surprise, the Second Ship Captain had fallen flat onto the table, face first. Hirato had his eyes closed and a small smile on his lips, giving off a false innocence. Tsukitachi, who was equally perplexed by the situation, tried to wake him up by giving a slight shake to his shoulders but to no avail. Hirato was the first to lose consciousness thus making Akari victorious.

"Well, since Hirato's already fast asleep, then it seems that you've won this game, Akari-chan."

Never before (and by _never_, he meant not even _once_) had Akari rejoiced for something in his life ever since he started his work as a full-time health professional. Today though, was an exception, as it was the first time he had ever won a drinking game in his lifetime, and the prize that came with it was fairly worthy of a celebration. Finally, a peaceful week without pestering from such an annoying person -and of a lower rank to boot-; a week in which he could fully concentrate on his research and data collecting.

With his shame and reserves thrown out the window (he was indeed drunk anyway), Akari did a little happy dance on the table, shouting out slurred cries of victory and overall humiliated himself in front of the First Ship Captain, an act which he would surely regret once he came to his senses the next day.

Akari missed the tiny chuckle that escaped the supposedly drunk man on the table.

* * *

The pounding headache that surfaced the next morning was a horrible yet concrete proof of previous his state of drunkenness, and Akari did not even want to recall the mortifying and degrading acts he had committed the night before. He had a feeling that he did something that had crushed his pride and the two captains would surely mock him for it. Strangely enough, though, his morning was eerily quiet and peaceful as he walked along the corridor leading towards the Research Tower laboratories. No Hirato in sight? Surely something was off… The doctor halted in his track to think of the current predicament.

'Wait a minute, what exactly happened yesterday?' Akari pondered. 'I remember getting dragged into those bastards' drinking games, and then Hirato said something about a bet…'

As soon as the realization dawned upon him, Akari smirked triumphantly. "Of course… This is a week without that eyesore around. If only the week turned to forever, it would be much better." He continued his steps and headed towards the laboratory, all the while wearing a smug expression. He was exhilarated, and that joy he felt was clearly portrayed by his good mood.

"Hey, did you notice something wrong with Akari-sensei today?" one of the nurses whispered to her colleagues right after the doctor walked past them.

"Yes, he seems peculiarly happy for some reason. He didn't even raise his voice, and he was humming!"

"Kinda creepy, don't you think? Could it be that he had gotten himself a girlfriend?!" The three nurses gasped and one of them let out a small squeal that nevertheless managed to attract Akari's attention. He stopped walking, and turned to cast a glance over his shoulder.

"Slacking off work now, are we? If you have time to spread wild rumours about others, why don't you concentrate more on your job?" Akari's words were dripping with sarcasm, and his mockery was met with hurried apologies and bows from the nurses.

* * *

The whole day was irrevocably peaceful and calm for Akari, yet for some reason, he was always on guard just in case Hirato decided to mess with him once again. When Tsukumo and Yogi came to the Research Tower in the afternoon for their scheduled check-up, Hirato was not there. It seemed that Hirato was really accepting his loss and keeping his promise. Even after deciding to retire to his room for the day, Akari did not catch a glimpse of the black-haired man, which was pretty unusual and a tad bit unsettling. It's not like he was _waiting _for the other man to suddenly pop up in his room like he always did, but the room did felt quite empty, albeit tranquil, without the presence of Tsukitachi and Hirato. Only now did Akari realize how much the duo had affected him; after all, they were always crashing in his place like the irritating pests they were.

Sighing softly, the physician laid down on the sofa and loosened his tie, finally realizing how exhausted he was after all that hard work. It was already half past midnight and he was way too worn out due to the ever increasing workload, thanks to his assistant's clumsy demeanour and incompetence. At times, Akari wondered if Azana was really useless and unproductive, or just playing dumb for the sake of making his life a living hell. However, Akari truly loved his job, and more work was practically good news for him. Sometimes he immersed himself in his work -especially when a new research was yielding positive results- up to the point of ultimately putting himself last in the list of priorities. The people around him were constantly reminding him to be less of a workaholic but he paid them no heed.

"Akari-san, please do not overwork yourself. You should take better care of your health. Wouldn't it be an irony if the almighty doctor himself falls sick?" Akari could still recall vividly the words uttered by the Second Ship Captain whenever he stopped by to 'visit'. On normal occasions, Akari, being the elder of the two, would casually brush it off with a grunt and an "It's okay, I'm fine. Who would worry over something as trivial as this?" and continue flipping through pages and keying in data.

"I would." Hirato would reply with a soft smile. The smile was strangely suitable for such a cold-hearted man whose specialty was in terminating others' lives.

Akari would turn back slightly to shoot an incredulous look and a menacing glare, and Hirato would just smile and continue to observe the doctor silently from his default seat on the sofa. Then, minutes (that felt like hours) after that, he would rise and saunter slowly towards Akari, bend down and give a soft peck on his cheek as a 'goodbye kiss'. "I will have to take my leave now, Akari-san. Take care." With that, he vanished into thin air and the peach-haired man swore that Hirato did it on purpose (he could have walked through the door anyway), because after each 'goodbye kiss', he never had the chance to ask what they really meant.

That was one of the many reasons Akari hated the man so much. His loathing towards Hirato and the man's unfathomable ways of showing affection far outweighed his detestation towards Tsukitachi's foolish jokes and hatred towards Yogi's laziness.

"Why am I still thinking about that fool...?"

Still lying on the sofa, Akari felt his eyelids getting heavier with each passing second before finally letting himself being engulfed by sleep.

* * *

Akari stirred in his slumber and stretched his hands out, feeling the soft mattress sink under his pressure. His eyes squinted at the light coming from his bedside window, and that was when he realised that he was in his bedroom. He was absolutely positive that he fell asleep on a sofa, and now he had magically tucked in safely in bed. As far as he had known, he held no past records of sleep-walking incidents (that would be Yogi's habit), so the current situation was downright puzzling.

That was until he caught a sight of a certain black-haired man nodding off on a chair situated right next to the bed. The man was still in his heavy coat and the usual attire, minus the hat, which signaled that he must have gotten here right after work. Keeping his eyes on the man, Akari wondered how on earth someone could appear to be so innocent and angelic in his sleep, but transform completely into a constantly smirking half-demon when awake. His musings were interrupted by Hirato rousing from his nap and that was when the medic remembered that he should not be seeing this man for another 6 days.

"What are you doing here? You know very well that you had promised me a week of your absence!" Akari exclaimed angrily. He was beyond aggravated by the fact that Hirato was encroaching on his personal space, not keeping his words, and above all -judging from the present condition- had carried him to his bed while he was dozing off.

Hirato, who was already wide awake, merely laughed in amusement at Akari's outburst.

"Now, now, Akari-san. Please refrain from yelling like that. You wouldn't want the others to be aware of my presence, right?" Hirato smirked and stared into the two bright pink depths, whose owner instantly avoided the gaze in total embarrassment.

"Why are you in my room?" the pink-haired man crossed his arms, frustration now evident in his every move, because whatever it was that Hirato was plotting, it was unacceptable to take advantage of him while he was unconscious!

The Second Ship Captain remained silent at first, before straightening up and sitting on the bed. The warm light blue blanket shifted under his weight and Akari jerked away a little, his reflex rather slow due to him being groggy from sleep.

"Well, I'm here to see you of course. I planned to leave you alone for the rest of the week, really. But then I decided not to."

"And why is that? Honestly, previously I had reckoned you to be a man of his words, and here you are, breaking your pro—mmphh!"

Akari's words were muffled by the lips pressed onto his and his rose-coloured eyes widened in shock. Hirato had his eyes closed, and when he realised that there wasn't any resistance whatsoever, he slowly reached out to hold Akari's jaw in place (just in case the temporarily paralyzed man snaps and tries to break free) and licked Akari's bottom lip, nibbling slightly to further tease him. The next few moments dissipated into thin air from Akari's mind as he felt himself giving in to the kiss, his eyelids fluttering before fully closing to obscure his vision. When Hirato finally pulled away (Akari could've sworn that the kiss must have lasted a few minutes, even though it was not a deep one) and the pink-haired man was left baffled and dazed.

"It's because I missed you," the Second Ship Captain simply answered with a smile. That sweet smile was not conceited, nor was it intimidating. It was the smile of rare occurrence that due to some unidentified reasons, had never failed to make Akari's heart leap and threaten to fall out of his chest, much to his dismay. Akari was blushing furiously now, with his moist lips tinged red and Hirato absentmindedly compared the man before him to a strawberry. That image elicited a small chuckle from him.

"To be honest, I really can't let a day pass without seeing you."

Hirato's sweet words fell onto deaf ears as all Akari could listen to was his own erratic heartbeat, and all he could feel was the warm hand carefully encasing his own, coupled with the tingling sensation on his lips. Did that really just happened? Did Hirato really kiss him? Why couldn't he push him away? Had he been his usual self, he would have broken the kiss within milliseconds and maybe slap Hirato for being inappropriate, but instead he let himself blush like a school girl!

While Akari was busy berating himself in his head for allowing the kiss to happen, the usually gloved hand that was not intertwined with Akari's reached out to ruffle the messy peachy hair before dropping lower to caress his smooth cheek.

"Besides, your bed hair is really cute. I wish I could see it more often."

That was the final call needed to snap the now fully awake man out of his entranced state. 'Cute' was the last word that he could ever wish to be associated with, and being described as just that by the man he had claimed he hated the most (not that his hatred had lessened or anything after this incident, nope) was testing his patience and breaking his self restraint. That morning, Hirato learnt to what extent could his actions annoy Akari, and his mocking words earned him a face full of pillows.

* * *

Somewhere in the First Ship, Tsukitachi snickered and snorted in front of the floating screen while watching the scene unfold. It was the right decision to install hidden cameras in Akari-chan's room last night. Had the raven-haired man revealed that he was just feigning to be drunk and then go missing for a week to make Akari-chan miss him (but the plan backfired), Akari-chan would probably had stabbed his enemy/lover with a syringe filled with poisonous liquid. Watching his fellow Ship Captain putting his courting techniques to use and failing at getting the desired reaction was hilarious. After all, he had always known that Hirato could never last a day without Akari-chan, anyway.

"Maybe I should start playing Cupid."

And with that, Tsukitachi was determined to be the middle person to resolve the sexual tension between his two friends and maybe date some hot nurses in exchange for some passionate and intense love-making tapes he'd make sure he get his hands on.

Oh, he's _**never**_ going to remove those cameras, alright.

* * *

A/N: I was thinking of writing a sequel to this, about Hirato/Akari sexytime and Tsukitachi being a perverted voyeur (hurr hurr~). The rating will definitely shoot up to M, though. Reviews/comments/criticisms are welcomed.


End file.
